Supreme Court shoots down DuPage candidate's chances
The Illinois Supreme Court rejected would-be Democratic state Senate candidate Tom Cullerton's appeal to have his name on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Cullerton had sought the opinion of the state's highest court after being thrown off the ballot by the DuPage County Electoral Board, a decision that was eventually upheld by an appeals court ruling.
Republicans objected to Cullerton's candidacy because he had voted Republican in the Feb. 5 primary, but was later nominated by the county Democrats to fill a vacancy on the ballot against longtime Roselle Republican state Sen. Carole Pankau.
The electoral board voted 2-1 in May to remove the Villa Park trustee from the ballot, saying a candidate couldn't participate within two political parties during the same election cycle. Cullerton's lawyers argued that since Cullerton wasn't a candidate when he voted Republican in the primary, the state's party-switching laws didn't apply to him.
Burt Odelson represented the Republicans who objected to Cullerton's candidacy. He said the appeals court ruling provides clarity on the state's vague party-switching laws.
"Unless the General Assembly does something with it, this is the ruling that any other court in the state will follow," Odelson said.
The electoral board's decision was initially overturned by a DuPage County judge, but the appeals court ruling superseded the judge's decision.
Both sides had requested the state court make a speedy decision because the election was looming and ballots needed to be printed. DuPage Election Commission attorney Pat Bond said the court's decision allows ballots to be printed on time, Sept. 25.
Neither Cullerton nor his attorneys returned repeated phone calls seeking comment.
Cullerton wasn't Pankau's only competition. Republicans also objected to an independent candidate's nominating papers, but Addison resident Kevin Allen chose to withdraw from the race instead of seek relief through the courts after election officials pointed out paperwork deficiencies.
The deadline to register as a write-in candidate has also passed and no one has filed to run against Pankau, election officials said.